PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The holidays mean travel for many of us, and if you have an infant or toddler, you also know that travel can mean one big headache. Little ones need lots of stuff, big stuff! But 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds that there’s some new gear out there that can bring it back down to tyke-size.

When Natalie Catala packs her family for a road trip, it’s the littlest one that takes up the most room. She says, “It’s a hassle having to travel with a small child because you have got to pack your car up and then by the time you put your things in you’ve got no space.”

Kim Orlando from TravelingMom.com says, “The gear can be a vacation killer for a mom because we turn into the family Sherpa, we have to carry everything for everybody, so it’s always about how do we reduce? How can you get what you need with less?”

Orlando says moms these days are in luck because manufacturers are making innovative products that are safe, lightweight and portable. One example is “The Nest”. According to Orlando, “The Nest is a ten gallon storage compartment folded down into a 5 pound piece of material that unfolds into a bassinet for a child, has a mattress and everything. What’s great about the nest is that it fits in the overhead compartment in an airplane.”

When you’re flying, you may not want to bring a bulky booster seat on board. Orlando says The Cares System is an alternative. “It is FAA approved, perfectly safe and so handy to pack because it’s small, folds up really tiny and you don’t have all this huge stuff to carry with you.”

Worried about having a booster seat for the car you’ll be driving around when you land, or even the cab? Orlando suggests the Bubble Bum. It’s inflatable. She says, “When you’re done with it you just deflate it, fold it, stick it in your suitcase, easy to carry.”

A portable booster seat can give your little one a lift. She showed us a version called the Go Anywhere Booster Seat that attaches to any chair-and it’s padded, so it’s more comfy than the wooden models. Meanwhile Mom Natalie is also a big fan of the Neatnick Saucer. It keeps food from flying to the ground, but also gives her daughter an eating surface that Natalie can keep clean. both items collapse way down. Natalie says that’s the key. “If we have something that compacts to something very small that would be perfect.”

For more information on the products mentioned in this report, visit the links below: